At 45, Venus Williams earns her 25th U.S. Open singles draw
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams has secured her 25th main draw in the prestigious tennis tournament at age 45 amid a recent comeback attempt.
Williams is one of eight women who obtained wild card draws for the competition that begins with qualifying rounds on Tuesday, the U.S. Open announced on Wednesday.
The main event runs from Aug. 24 through Sept. 7.
Williams won consecutive U.S. Open singles titles in 2000 and 2001 and last month ended a 16-month hiatus from competitive tennis when she entered the Citi Open in Washington.
She defeated Peyton Stearns, the world's 35th-ranked women's singles player, 6-3, 6-4, during her opening match in that tournament.
Poland's Magdalena Fręch was the tournament's fifth seed and defeated Williams, 6-2, 6-2, but Williams secured a wild card invite to compete in the Cincinnati Open, which started on Aug. 5 and ends on Monday.
Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Williams, 6-4, 6-4, on Thursday in the Cincinnati Open.
Other U.S. women who earned wild card draws in the U.S. Open are Clervie Ngounoue, Alyssa Ahn, JulietaPareja, Caty McNally and Valerie Gloxman.
Pareja, 16, is the world's top-ranked junior, while Ngounoue, 19, is the former top-ranked junior and won her first Women's Tennis Association main draw at the Cincinnati Open.
Caroline Garcia of France and Talia Gibson of Australia also received wild-card main draws for the U.S. Open.
The main draw wild cards mean Williams and other recipients don't have to play in the U.S. Open's qualifying tournament, which is held from Monday through Aug. 20 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City's Queens borough.
Williams has won five Wimbledon titles in addition to her two U.S. Open wins for a total of seven Grand Slam singles titles, plus four Olympic gold medals and one silver medal.
She also has won 14 major doubles titles.
The U.S. Open news wasn't the only highlight for Williams on Wednesday.
Toymaker Mattel on Wednesday also announced it is producing a Venus Williams Barbie Doll as part of its "Inspiring Women Series" dolls.
The Williams doll wears a tennis outfit and visor while holding a tennis racket, which is modeled after one of her prior tournament outfits.
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